Apparatus for producing imitation basket fabrics



Jun e 9, 1925.-

F. B. RILEY APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING IMITATION BASKET FABRICS Filed Sept. 23. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 9, 1925. 1,540,999

F. RILEY APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING IMITATIDN BASKET FABRICS Fil'ed Sept. 25 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A mix 0 o c j PAM) 4 Fig.4. @i

Patented June 9, 1925.

UNITED [STATES v v 1,54a999 PATENT OFFICE-" FRANCIS B. RILEY, 0F NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB '10 HEYVTOOD-WAKE-- FIELD COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FORERODUCING IlvIITATTON BASKET FABRICS. V

Application filed September To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, Rumors B. RILEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Producing Imitation Basket Fabrics, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawings is a specification.

The present invention to the production ofa fabric Suitable for use in the manufacture of baskets, furniture, baby carriages and the like. Such a fabric, consisting of reed, paper reed, wicker or othersimilar material, ordinarily presents a series of spacedelements or stakes of considerable rigidity, with interwoven strands of similar material but usually of less rigidity in close, compact and unspaced arrangements-both the stakes and the strands difiering greatly 'from the threads of a textile. fabric in thatthey offer considerable resistance to bending, twisting or kinking. t

The present invention contemplates the simple and easy production of a fabric closely resembling the stake and strand fabrics of this class by the utilization of sheets of heavy paper, cardboard, fiberboard, or other similar flexible and durable material, the latter serving, as hereinafter described, as the warp material, for interweaving with the spaced stakes. The invention is fully set forth in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which I Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the fabric in process of formation.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1. a

Figs. 3 and): are detail views showing modifications in the form of the devices for operating on the sheet of warpfmaterial.

Figs. 5 and .6 are similar views showing other modifications in the form of these devices. 7 i

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the fabric as produced by the herein described invention.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is illus trated. a continuous sheet 1 of suitable ma-- terial, such as heavy paper, cardboard, fiberrelates generally 23, 1920. serial no. 412,336. I

board or the like, which, is in process of be:

ing formed, so to speak, into the warp of the woven fabric, by passage between cooperating sets of scoring'and deflecting devices, as hereinafterdescribed. The scoring devices here take the form of coacting revoluble rolls 2 and 3, carried by shafts 4 and 5 respectivelythat are driven in unison, these rolls servingfor the advance-' m'ent of the sheet 1, and also, by means of their spaced peripheral scoring ridges '6 and 7 imparting to the sheet, on each side thereof, a plurality of longitudinal scores.

These scores preferably do not completely sever the material of the sheet 1, but on the other hand, suficiently weaken it'so as .to facilitate the subsequentopposite deflection of adjacent portions thereof, in the process of forming the fabric. i

The scored sheet,- as indicated at 8, passes in continuous form to the deflecting or forming devices, here shown as cooperaing rotatable elements 9 and 10 carried respectively by shafts 11 and 12. Each forming device 9 and 10 is made up of a plurality of disks or plates 13 which are secured side by side upon the'shafts 11 and 12,andcorrespond in number and width to the spaces between the'scoring'ridges 6 6 and 7 7 on the rolls 2 and 3. In other words, the adjacent disks or plates 13 line up with the adjacent strips I of material in the sheet 8 between the scores; each disk or plate 13 presents on its periphery a plurality of cam projections 14, alternating with depressions 15, andthe' alternate disks 13 of each element 9, 10 are an'gu'larly' displaced in the manner shown in Fig. 2, so that the alined cam projections 14, 14of every alternate disk or plate 13 on one shaft 11 come into matching relation with the alined depressions 15, 15 of the corresponding alternate disks or plates 13 on the other shaft 12. In

the same way thedepressions of the first each longitudinal portion thereof between the parallel scores" is severed at intervals along the scores by the forcible deflection,

"first in. one direction and then in the, opposite: direction, efi'ected by the cam projections 14 of the disks or plates 13. In other words, with reference to the production of a fabric of regular weave, here-selected for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that when the (37am projections 14"and depressions 15 reach their cooperating posierably where they cross each other, as indicated at 18. The strips 17, especially when i the material, such as fiberboard, has suffici ent inherent stiffness, will retain their deflections after leaving the elements 9' and 10; with material that does not sufliciently possess this characteristic, but tends to spring back after deflection, it is found desirable to wet it before the deflection is imparted; this causessuch material to retain its deflected form after it leaves the elements 9', 10. l a Asthus deflected, the series of strips 17 present a succession of openings or spaces 19 across the width of the sheet for the insertion of stakes 20'; the latter may be pushed into place by hand if" desired, or in any other suitable way, as by means of a reciprocating jig 21; The insertion of the stakes 20 in the regularly spaced intervals presented by the sheet as emerges'in the form shown at 16 completes the fabric, as far as interweaving of the stakes with the sheet inater'ial is concerned. If desired, the material, with the StitkS thus interwoven, may be passed between compressing rolls and 23 for the purpose of firmly retaining the stakes in place; this procedure is preferable, especially when. the sheet 1 has been moistened, but when the sheet possesses the requisite inherent resiliency, the pressing step may be dispensed with. y

In order still further to simulate the appearance of woven reed, a form of the scoring. and deflecting instriu'nentali'ties may be availed of suchjas shown in Figsg3andi 4;

the scoring rolls24 and 25, reason of the circul'arjgnooves' 26 in the form'ei'r, are designed to exert suflici'ent pressure to deform the material, causing its presentation to* the deflecting elements 27 and 28 aseries'jof substantially half round strips,- somewhat ried still further by the provision of scoring and deflecting means such as shouvn in Figs, 5 and 6, where the scoring rollers 31 and 82 have cooperating peripheral grooves 33 and 'wh'ere jthe deflecting and. severing disks 01' plates 34 havei cooperating oral grooves 35.

Fig. 7 shows a section of complete fabric, and". illustratesthe manner in whichvariaperiphti o ns of design may be readily obtainec'l."

For such a fabric, it is only necessary to vary the distance between the peripheral ridges on the'scoring'ro-lls in order to obtain the strips of "different widths, with corresponding variations in the thickness pf the deflecting plates or disks; Various other modifications 1n the: form and design of thecompleted fabric can rea'dily'b'e' obtained by changes in the form and arrangement or the cam projections onthe deflectin'g elements, as well as in the form and arrange ment of the inserted stakes;

From the foregoing, it is apparentthat the invention provides a particularly ad:

vantageous method for producing a fabric which is; very similar to hand woven reed fabrics; using plain sheets of cardboard, fiberboard; or any other similar durable flexible material. The fabric: can be formed quickly and continuously and with a. minimum' ofefl'ort on thepart of the operator,

owing to the extreme simplicity of the mechanism; employed. The production of such a. fabric is susceptible of numerous variations and" modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of my in vention as defined in the appended claims. I claim: 1 I 1. In a machine ofthe class described, a pair of' rotatable cylinders, one' .at'least having continuous cutting portions disposed ill around the cylindrical surface, the edge of h each portion being continuous and entirely in a right: section of said cylinder; the said cylinder being adapted to score a sheet of flexible material in' a series of continuous parallel lines, andshed forming meanscomprising a pair of shafts with a"pl'u'rali ty of cams mounted on each shaft adapted to break the scored sheet into a 'numb'er'of shedsifor the insertion of stakes in spaced relation. I i

2. In a machineof the class described, a pairofi rotatablecylinders, one at least hav ing its cylindrical surface 'destroye'd fby' a contiguous series ofixconcave grooves, each groove having a center on the axis of the said cylinder, and the plane of each groove being at right angles to the axis of the said cylinder, the two cylinders being adapted to score one surface at least of a sheet of flex ible material, in straight, parallel, unbroken lines, and shed forming means comprising a pair of shafts with a plurality of cams mounted on each shaft adapted to break the scored sheet into a number of sheds for the insertion of stakes in spaced relation.

3. In a machine of the class described, a pair of rotatable cylinders, one at least hav- -15 ing its cylindrical surface destroyed by a contiguous series of concave grooves, each groove having a center on the axis of the 7 said cylinder, and the plane of each groove being at right angles to the axis of the said cylinder, the two cylinders being adapted to score and rib one surface at least of a sheet of flexible material, in straight, parallel, unbroken lines, and shed forming means comprising a pair of shafts with a plurality of cams mounted on each shaft adapted to break the scored sheet into a number of sheds for the insertion of stakes in'spaced relation.

FRANCIS B, RILEY. 

